Page 2110 - Sports
Churchill Brothers score first home win
Churchill Brothers scored a goal in each half to beat Shillong Lajong 2-0 and notch up their first home win in the I-League here today. Churchill Brothers, who had better ball possession and more scoring chances, scored through Osagie Monday (8th minute) and P M Britto (76th). Today's win took Churchill to ninth place in league table with seven points from eight matches. Shillong Lajong remained on fourth position with 14 points from 11 matches. Shillong Lajong came into their own and put up an improved performance in the second half but they could not find their shots on target. They were unlucky twice when Saihou Jagne and P Lalrohlua's attempts hit the woodwork. Churchill looked more promising at the start as they controlled the proceedings but surged ahead in the eighth minute through a lapse by Lajong keeper Phurba Tempa Laachenpa lapse who left his charge and failed to collect a harmless clearance from rival defender Osagie Monday. The Lajong keeper failed to read ..
IPL fast-tracked little known players to big league: Sehwag
Virender Sehwag credits the cash- rich and glamour-packed Indian Premier League (IPL) for fast- tracking little known players to the top level of the game. The former dashing opener cited the examples of all- rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan, rookie pacer Mohammed Siraj and Australian David Warner and Glenn Maxwell to buttress his view. "I think what the IPL did to the Indian cricket is that it gave unknown players to the Indian cricket team. If they play for their first class team, they will take at least five to six years to come and play for India. "But through the IPL, those players, who have talent and who did well - they just did well in one season and next year they were part of team India, that is what IPL did," Sehwag told PTI. "Ravindra Jadeja is one of them and so is Yusuf Pathan. Recently Deepak Hooda, fast bowlers (Mohammed) Siraj and (Basil) Thampi - they got picked (in the Indian squad) because of IPL performance," said the 39-year-old cricketer,
Second seed Wozniacki cruises into Open last 16
World number two Caroline Wozniacki kept her bid for a first Grand Slam title on course as she stormed into the last 16 of the Australian Open today. The second seed only scraped through to the third round by the skin of her teeth, saving two match points at 5-1 down in the third set against 119th ranked Jana Fett. But on Friday she gave her most assured performance of the tournament so far, cruising past Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 26 minutes. Wozniacki had called her second round comeback her "greatest escape" but she was never in need of a rescue act as she easily dealt with the challenge from the number 30 seed, who was playing in the third round for the first time. "Right now I'm playing with house money, playing with nothing to lose," said the Dane. "I was already out of the tournament." And it showed as the former world number one was fast out of the blocks, breaking Bertens' opening service game. Apart from one dropped serve of her own ..
East Bengal not taking Mohun Bagan lightly
East Bengal will not take struggling Mohun Bagan lightly, coach Khalid Jamil said today ahead of their return leg I-League football clash on January 21. "We have been preparing as usual, anything can happen in a game. Mohun Bagan are a good side, we can't take them lightly," Jamil told a news conference at their tent today. East Bengal lost by a solitary goal in the first leg derby on December 3 but since then, they have won five matches, including four in a row. "We did not play well in our last match against Mohun Bagan. But we have prepared well for this time." Asked whether he's looking at this as a revenge match, he said: "We have to win well and play positively. Every match is a do-or-die, no doubt this one as well. "Like every other match, we are hoping for a positive result," he said seeking to play down the hype surrounding the derby. East Bengal's glorious run ended after dropping points in the last two outings as they slipped to second behind Minerva. "There's .
Kyrgios topples idol Tsonga in electric clash
Australia's Nick Kyrgios won an electric four-setter with his idol Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to advance to the round of 16 at the Australian Open today. Kyrgios, seeded 17, needed three tiebreakers to win a crunch match with the former finalist 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/5) in 3hr 17min in a spectacular night match on Rod Laver Arena. It pitches the mercurial Australian into a round of 16 showdown with Bulgaria's world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday. Kyrgios, urged on by his home crowd, traded breathtaking shots with Tsonga, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2008 Australian final when Kyrgios was a doting 12-year-old fan. "It was amazing. I've never won a match on this court before but playing Jo I was obviously very nervous," Kyrgios said on court. "He was a guy I looked up to as a kid, still do, he's a great guy. I'm just so happy to get through. "At 5-2 down in the fourth set breaker, I was getting ready for a fifth set mentally. I somehow just hung in and got a couple
Bangladesh thrash Sri Lanka in tri-nation series
Bangladesh decimated Sri Lanka by 163 runs in the third match of the tri-nation series at the Shere Bangla National Stadium at Mirpur on Friday to record their biggest victory margin over the island nation.
Mohun Bagan coach says East Bengal favourites in derby
Playing mind games ahead of their clash against arch-rivals East Bengal, Mohun Bagan coach Shankarlal Chakraborty on Friday put his counterpart Khalid Jamil on a higher pedestal in terms of coaching pedigree, adding the 'home team' will start as favourites.
Shivani loses in semis of ITF juniors tennis meet
Shivani Amineni went down to a tame straight-set defeat against Turkey's Selin Ovunc in the girls singles semi-finals of the ITF Junior tennis championships here on Friday.
Wasim leads at PGTI Final Qualifying Stage
Delhis Wasim Khan surged ahead in round three of the Final Qualifying Stage for the 2018 Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) season being held at the Kensville Golf & Country Club here on Friday.
Morgan sounds warning after England win
Following their four-wicket win in the second One-Day International (ODI) here on Friday, England captain Eoin Morgan has warned Australia that his team has the ability to perform even better.
East Bengal will start as favourites: Mohun Bagan coach
East Bengal may have lost the first leg derby last month but they will start favorites in the return I-League fixture here on Sunday, Mohun Bagan coach Shankarlal Chakraborty said today. Mohun Bagan won by a solitary goal against their arch- rivals last month but since then they have slumped to sixth in the table and have parted with their I-League winning coach Sanjoy Sen. "East Bengal are way ahead of us," Chakraborty told reporters in the build-up to the derby. Injuries to key players, including their star striker Sony Norde, have deflated Mohun Bagan's campaign as they have managed just six points from six outings. "(Whether we are) with or without Sony, East Bengal will start favourites," he said and pointed out that East Bengal have fared better since losing to them. "You just look at the table. They have lost only one match. Their coach (Khalid Jamil) has a lot of more experience than me, having coached at Mumbai FC before winning I-League for Aizawl FC (last ...
NADA launches Independent Observer Programme
The National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) has launched an Independent Observer Programme in order to improve the quality of dope testing and increase its conformity with international standards to reduce negligible chances of any malpractices by the Dope Control officers.Former top-level athletes, doping control experts, and sports scientists have been inducted by the NADA to carry out this programme.A meeting in this connection was held in the office of NADA on January 18 in which various issues and modalities for proper supervision over the dope control process to be carried out by these experts were discussed.Meanwhile, the anti-doping agency has also claimed that it has exceeded its World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommended a testing target of 3000 during the calendar year 2017.As per the figures given by the NADA, a total of 3594 samples were collected during the year.It also said that it has surpassed the testing figures of the year 2016 by about 7 percent and the percentage of ..
Senior badminton: Top seeds Mahajan, Joshi crash out in semis
Unseeded Naheed Divecha of Greater Mumbai District caused a major upset and advanced into the Women 45+ singles final of the 'Badminton 45' Senior State Veterans Badminton Selection Tournament 2018 here today. In the semi-finals, Divecha defeated top seed Sanjeevani Mahajan of Pune District in straight games. Divecha was aggressive from the start and called the shots to send the fancied Pune shuttler packing by coasting to a 21-7, 21-5 victory, a media release said today. The tournament is being conducted by the Maharashtra Badminton Association and hosted by the Bombay Gymkhana. Second seed Archana Singh, of Mumbai Suburban District, also fell by the wayside, losing to Pune District's unseeded player Deepali Joshi in two games. The Pune shuttler displayed better control and consistency to come through against Archana by posting a 21- 13, 21-13 victory in the second semi-final and book a place in the final. The top seeds in the men's 50+ singles category, Murli ...
Wasim Khan surges ahead in Rd 3 of Final Qualifying Stage
Delhi golfer Wasim Khan surged ahead in round three of the PGTI's Final Qualifying Stage for the 2018 season being held at the Kensville Golf & Country Club here today. Wasim (74-71-71) climbed five places from his overnight tied sixth as a result of a second successive round of one- under-71 that took his total to even-par-216. Wasim's two birdies on the front-nine were negated by his double-bogey on the fourth. But the professional from the Delhi Golf Club had a better back-nine where he made three birdies at the expense of two bogeys. He closed the round in style with a mammoth 70-feet birdie conversion on the 18th after having recovered well from the hazard. "I just told myself at the start of the day that I have to enjoy my round as the rest will fall in place. I made a brilliant recovery from the hazard on the last hole and followed that up with an outstanding putt for birdie," Wasim said. "That really lifted my confidence going into the final round. I think a
Del Santo wins Saravanabhavanantham Gold Cup
Del Santo, trained by R Foley and ridden by Md.Hesnain, won the V G Saravanabhavanantham Gold Cup, the main event of the races here today. Trainers R Foley and Fahad Khan each saddled two winners while jockey C Umesh rode three winners. Four favourites obliged in a card of seven events.
Want to win as many titles as possible in 2018, says Marin
After guiding Hyderabad Hunters to a maiden title win at PBL 3, reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin has now set her sights on winning as many titles as possible in the new international season. A former World No 1, Marin had lost three finals in successive weeks early last year, which also saw her fighting fitness issues. "I think winning the Olympic gold medal for my country is one thing, which makes me very proud," Marin said. "I have many upcoming tournaments in the year. I want to play good badminton and make my country proud by winning as many tournaments as possible," added the Spaniard, who clinched the Japan Open last year. While Indian ace P V Sindhu stopped her at India Open, Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying proved to be her nemesis at Malaysia and Singapore. On her rivalry with Sindhu, Tai Tzu and Saina Nehwal, the 24-year-old said: "All of them (Sindhu, Saina and Ying) are very talented players and it is always tough playing against these three. Need to be .
AICS asks for enhancement of sports budget
All India Council of Sports (AICS) chief Vijay Kumar Malhotra has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enhance the sports budget for 2018-19 while asking NSFs to draw a roadmap for athletes preparing for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, Asiad and 2020 Olympics. The AICS today held its 8th meeting under the under the chairmanship of Malhotra, a veteran politician and sports administrator. "Prof. Malhotra informed the house that he has requested the Hon'ble Prime Minister to consider enhancement of sports budget for the year 2018-19. Prior to that he has requested Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs to consider enhancement of Sports Budget from present Rs. 1393.21 crore to Rs. 6,500.00 crore," the AICS said in a release. The former Archery Association of India president said that he has received a positive response from the PMO. Regarding preparation for the CWG and Asian Games, it said in the release, "Prof. Malhotra reminded that in
ISL: Pune eager to cement semis spot (Preview)
FC Pune City will be eager to secure their place in the semi-finals when they host defending champions ATK in an Indian Super League (ISL) match here on Saturday.
African athletes expected to dominate Tata Mumbai Marathon
African athletes are likely to dominate proceedings at Sunday's Tata Mumbai Marathon with all of them, both men and women, geared up for the mega event. While in the Mens Full Marathon, among the Africans, Solomon Deksisa (Ethiopia), Evans Ruto (Kenya) and his compatriot Joshua Kipkoror are set for the race, in the womens category Kenyan Bornes Kitur and Ethiopian Amane Gobena and Shuko Genemo, among others, will compete for the top spot. In the men's category, Jeffrey Eggleston from the United States can give tough competition to the Africans and may spring a surprise. These athletes spoke to media persons here today, two days prior to the race. Kitur, who is the defending champion, said the course was nice and that she enjoyed running in the city. "The finish (last year) was great and this year the build up to the Marathon has been great as well," added Kitur, who has a personal best of 2:29:01. Ethiopian Gobena, who has been running for several years now, said she ...
Shivani falls at semifinal hurdle in ITF Juniors
India's Shivani Amineni suffered a tame straight-set defeat against Turkey's Selin Ovunc in the girls singles semifinals to bow out of the DKS ITF Juniors tournament, here today. Second seed Selin did not break a sweat as she outclassed third seed 6-1 6-3 in one hour and 15 minutes at the Dakshin Kalikata Sansad clay courts. Selin will now fight it out with Ukrainian Diani Khodan, who rallied to beat France's Margaux Rouvroy 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4 in two hours and 35 minutes. In boys singles U-18 category, unseeded Mathys Erhard's dream run ended with 2-6 4-6 defeat against Belgium's Louis Herman, seeded eighth. Herman will now face top seed Yassir Kilani in the final tomorrow. Kilani breezed past Poland's Michal Woznaik by 7-6(3) 6-3.